Pioneer Football League (Bangladesh)
Pioneer Football League Bangladesh is the only youth clubs football league in Bangladesh which run by the Bangladesh Football Federation.[1] The competition is organized for country's grassroot football clubs.[2]
| Founded | 23 March 1987 |
|---|---|
| First season | 1987 |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 64 |
| Level on pyramid | Grassroot |
| Promotion to | Dhaka Third Division Football League |
| Relegation to | None |
| Current champions | Elias Ahmed Chowdhur SS (1st title) 2020 |
| Current: 2020 Pioneer Football League (Bangladesh) | |
History
Pioneer Football League is serving a greater interest for the country's football as it produces future stars of Bangladesh football . Bangladesh national team superstars Nabib Newaj Jibon, Monem Munna is the product of this league. More than 70 clubs from all over the country participates in the league. The semifinalists get promotions to third division.
Till 2017–18 season, it was a U-16 tournament. But it became U-15 competition from 2019–20 season to pick talents for BFF Academy & Bangladesh u-16 national team.[2]
Format
Every year more than 64 u-15 boys teams from across country take part in the preliminary round of the league.
The teams are divided into 8 groups to play in eight zones in the preliminary round.
Then the top two teams of each zone and the best four third placed teams are selected to play in the ‘Super League’ phase of the Pioneer Football League.
The top 20 teams are divided into 4 groups of 5 and the top teams of each group qualify to play in the semi-finals.
The winners of the semi-finals square-off in the final to crown the Pioneer Football League.
References
- "PIONEER Football League | BFF". Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- "Pioneer League 2019: Clubs dem and better venues". Dhaka Tribune. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.